February 19, 2011 Magic Western - Presidents of the Caribbean!

[Vyann]

Here's a few pics!

This is my fav, when Chip & Dale walked off w/my 2 yr old.

Funny... My family was near you guys when this happened. I remember saying to my 15 year old. Oh no, Chip and Dale are taking that little one <3 She laughed.

 

[wcw57]

Travis.....I was at the meet. Felt I should leave quickly since all the women were hovering around me and it was soooooooo distracting.

I have a pretty good photo of the kids from the meet which I will post (eventually)

our server was Guiseppe and the asst was Raquel. Guiseppe was VERY nice but never seemed to get "special request" veggies for DGD (ZuZu) which others have posted was very common (the special requests) and he didn't do any stupid towel tricks or anything.....he was VERY NICE but sort of distracted. a fine waiter for a standard restaurant......

Raquel was very new (2 weeks) but SCATTERED!!!!! She was out "sick" 2 days with either a cold or a bad back depending on which story Guiseppe remembered to tell us. On Tues Guiseppe (and all the others) ask what else they can do to be "excellent" (a subtle start of the excellent rating pressure).......I ak=sked if we couldn't have the coffee, milk and sweetners come out AT THE SAME TIME so I could have them with dessert while coffe was still hot/warm. THIS NEVER HAPPENED! I know they were at capacity (2700 people by CM info) but Guiseppe only has 2 tables on any given cruise. Total amount of people shouldn't impact his performance.

Our Head Waiter (Wayne) was VERY NICE and joked with us each night. He was very attentive.

We were among the last 3 or 4 tables out of the Dining Rooms each night. SOMEBODY else had to have dessert besides us.

OTHERWISE, the cruise was GREAT and little ZuZu did not want to leave. THAT is what makes it worth doing.

when we asked her what her favorite part was she immediately said, "I know! ALL of it!!!!!"

Can't fathom why people complain about the crowded chairs...they were always available when I was there....CAN see why they complain pools are too small. Whoever heard of a standing room only pool? CAN'T understand why people complain about CC being crowded. It was a lot better than our LI beaches in the summer. Maybe people believe the commercials where a happy couple stroll hand-in-hand all by themselves
along the shore........

Here is a teaser for all of you to consider before I post a video on You Tube........id anyone else have magnetic cutlery on the Magic?

As for the FE's: SOME were sooooooo small (the pockets) that it was like ADVERTISING that there were toys hanging out in front of your door ready to be taken......We LOVED all the thoughtful gifts and it seems we werwe the only ones who didn't gift wrap their booty. Did everyone find the pennies in the bottom of the pockets or are they all packed away with the FE?


Next Trip: WDW! Cruise again? Not soon but maybe when our new DGD or DGS (due in 3 weeks) gets older...

I'll let you guys know if/when I post photos to FLICKR

 

[travisx4]

Bill,
It is good to know that you made the meet. It was hard to meet everyone since all of the converstaions I had were very interesting and muster was right around the corner. Sounds like you had the late seating, we had Wayne also. Our server and assistant were far under par compared to our last cruises. We must have walked out with you as it seemed like we were the last table to leave each night. For the Animator's show night we actually had dinner in Topsiders, the service was not any better though. I believe the Dream took all of the better ones. We did have a great server in Palo though the 3 times we were there, his name was Alvin.
We did get your penny, thank you.
As Lisa said for all that was wrong so many things were right that we booked 2 more cruises. It is only from past experience that we visted the cruise desk well before the end of the cruise to rebook.

 

[Wojima]

We had a WONDERFUL time on our 2nd Cruise. My kids too were excited each day to see what they got in the FE (List #2). I also started to feel bad that I didn't give enough as well. I spent 3 days cutting out my magnets. I had put in a request for my server and to our surprise Putu was our server again. His assistant Tomislav was great as well. He gave extra attention to my mother who was on here first cruise ever. She loved ever minute of it. We thought about booking another cruise but decided it wouldn't be for a few more years and didn't want to sit and wait that long. I bought a very nice piece at the 2nd Art Auction. Overall, my wife and I felt that the overall experience was just as good as our 1st cruise. Just wondering if anyone had anymore details/update on the emergency stop?

 

[mdezot]

Now that I have adjusted to real life again, I wanted to say thank you for all of the FE gifts that my kids (Jacob and Elise) received. Since this was our first cruise we had no idea what to expect and they were simply excited to find something in the FE when we returned to the room.

We enjoyed ourselves and met several wonderful families. We ended out switching to an early dinner seating after the first night's dinner and that worked out much better for us. Our head waiter Wira kindly took care of this switch for us immediately after dinner the first night. He also came by to check on us repeatedly during the cruise and even informed us of the next day's dining information one night because our regular server was busy. I felt that he had definitely earned his tip because switching to the early seating probably saved our cruise.


Oh, but I have one question.... we were unable to deliver gifts to Luke and Owen which I felt really badly about. We did several trips up and down the hallway looking for the room and eventually asked a CM and we were told room 7545 did not exist.?????So I asked Love2Shop which door the changes were supposed to be posted on and I check but did not see anything. Where were Luke and Owen???We still have your gifts!

 

[*love*2*shop]

went back This IS the stateroom the mom posted- there is NO such room number # sorry all


urghhh never mind you are right- diff people....HMMMMMM not sure .........

Luke(9) B 7545
Owen(6) B 7545



luke and owen were supposed to be in 7610. not 7545 BUT they missed the ship- so god know who got the gifts we delivered to that room, lol......


email me Girly! Miss you already!

Now that I have adjusted to real life again, I wanted to say thank you for all of the FE gifts that my kids (Jacob and Elise) received. Since this was our first cruise we had no idea what to expect and they were simply excited to find something in the FE when we returned to the room.

We enjoyed ourselves and met several wonderful families. We ended out switching to an early dinner seating after the first night's dinner and that worked out much better for us. Our head waiter Wira kindly took care of this switch for us immediately after dinner the first night. He also came by to check on us repeatedly during the cruise and even informed us of the next day's dining information one night because our regular server was busy. I felt that he had definitely earned his tip because switching to the early seating probably saved our cruise.


Oh, but I have one question.... we were unable to deliver gifts to Luke and Owen which I felt really badly about. We did several trips up and down the hallway looking for the room and eventually asked a CM and we were told room 7545 did not exist.?????So I asked Love2Shop which door the changes were supposed to be posted on and I check but did not see anything. Where were Luke and Owen???We still have your gifts!

 

[wcw57]

as far as emergency stop:

CM said that it was a back injury from a tumble down stairs....while it didn't seem to be serious, I'm sure they (and the insurance providers) like to err on the side of caution...........


Magnetic flatware anyone?

 

[travisx4]

I was told by a CM that it was a reaction to the food earlier that night. I also heard it was a lady that broke her arm and that it was a very young boy. Not sure if we will ever know which it was.

 

[maronvin]

Sorry we missed the meet, the boys were in the pool and we couldn't get them out. I did have the pleasure of meeting Bill and now that I saw the pictures from Love2Shop, we crossed paths several times, wish we knew it was you. My son loved your DH's Patriots Tattoo. The boys loved the FEs, thanks to all.

Bill, we had the same wait crew and felt they got better as the week went on, but Wayne avoided us all week. After receiving our drinks after we finished dinner on night one he sat at our table and asked how things were besides the problem with the drinks. When the other guy at my table said he thought the steak was fatty Wayne got up and walked away. The only times he came to our table is when the kids called him over, he never even came by on the last night for his tip. We did chase him down on Saturday morning, don't know why I bothered.

As for the medical emergency we were part of the group gawking from Deck 4 as they loaded the person onto the Coast Guard boat. I thought it was a woman. It was pretty amazing, it appeared like a section of the Magic's hull came down and created a dock then a 2 story staircase was set up.

As for the cruise, we loved the shows, pools were too small and hated being on a schedule. We belong to DVC so we'll probably do it again but I did the math and Beaches Turks and Caicos cost us about half and is amazing, so we may head there in 2012.

 

[Coastingthru]

We were told that the medical emergency was a young woman, that the person was already "much better" the next day and that the stop had likely saved her life. So I thought it must have been something like an anaphylactic reaction. I'm surprised there are so many different stories out there.

 

[nemofans]

We went to Beaches T & C last summer & had a blast! It is so fun & both my boys loved it. The beach, pools, waterpark, tons of restaurants, Sesame Street characters...
The beach was beautiful & the sand was amazing! SO soft! Maybe that's why I didn't like the sand at Castaway Cay as much w/all those shells. We went to Beaches right after DS was out of school (early June) & the resort was only half full. Plus, we got 55% off as well!

 

[Linda Farrell]

They loaded the Coast Guard boat from directly under my verandah. I could tell it was a young girl, strapped to the gurney, with one arm sticking out. I could see a ponytail or long hair at least. I didn't see if they let someone go with her or not...I hope they did.

 

[Margisue]

We had a blast on our 1st Disney cruise! Finally unpacked and steady on my feet again. I can't believe it has already been a week since we've gotten back home.

We were in FE #2, we got fabulous gifts. My girls were so excited to get back to the room each day and see what they got. I don't think any of ours were taken. They loved distributing the gifts as well.

Rachael, we hope Madison got the gifts from Margaret, even though you weren't in our FE list, she wanted to leave something for Madison. Sorry it was a disappointment.

Thanks again Linda for all of your information. My girls enjoyed the Tea Party with Alice and getting their pictures taken with her and the Mad Hatter at the end.

One night my 9 year old got stuck on the elevator, the operator came on the intercom several times to soothe her and the others. The next day they sent both my girls a free Stitch stuffed animal with a note of apology!! We thought that was incredibly nice.

We had Slobadan and Survaci as servers for dinner (I know the spelling is incorrect). They did an excellent job. They were sweet to the kids too.

We loved CC- we did the bicycle ride around the island.

Our kids did not want to go to Oceaneers Club much at all, so we spent most of our time with them. We encouraged them to go, but they just wanted to hang with us.

We are grateful we had early dinner, as our 5 year old was wiped out each night. One night she fell asleep at 6pm, during dinner, and slept all night.

The girls didn't want to leave the ship, and want to go to WDW for our vacation in September! Looks like we'll be there.

It was great meeting everyone at the meet on Saturday.

 

[*love*2*shop]

its ok- the gifts we did get were great and my kids were thrilled....I hope you also got the little gift we left for Margaret ( hopefully she didnt already have that one)

Glad you guys had a good time too....we LOVE disney so much that we just booked a Trip to WDW over.....XMAS!!!! Yuppers thats right, we are going to be at the Magic Kingdom on CHRISTMAS DAY this year

we will leave here on thursday dec 22 and arrive in fl on friday dec 23. Staying at disney until the friday after. we Plan to go to the Magic Kingdom for xmas and then also Universal Studios IOA one o the days. 1 day we will go visit my inlaws and the rest we will Hang and do nothing!!!


I also Swore i wouldnt cruise gain...then tonight madi and i saw a whole thing on tv about the disney Dream....ok,so maybe in a few more years we will try the dream for the 4/5 night..... who knows...for now its Dry land!

\We were in FE #2, we got fabulous gifts. My girls were so excited to get back to the room each day and see what they got. I don't think any of ours were taken. They loved distributing the gifts as well.

Rachel, we hope Madison got the gifts from Margaret, even though you weren't in our FE list, she wanted to leave something for Madison. Sorry it was a disappointment.

 

[Margisue]

its ok- the gifts we did get were great and my kids were thrilled....I hope you also got the little gift we left for Margaret ( hopefully she didnt already have that one)

No, she didn't have that one, and loves it! She also loved the silly bands.
I wish we had been on the same dining schedule, I think the girls would have had fun together. I just couldn't get her to venture out much.

Have fun at Christmas, that sounds like so much fun. We like to go in September and catch the Not So Scary Halloween party, we've done that 2 times now... the girls are already excited to think about it, my husband says he is Disneyed out, so I am working on him...

 

[missyone]

I was also on this cruise and found it interesting reading everyones comments regarding our cruise. We all had a great time, but comparing it to last year, it was not as 'magical' in some respects. Don't get me wrong, I would do it again in a minute, but was a little disappointed with the shows and some other stuff compared to last year. It was fine having the Argentinian dancers the first night...but the whole show the 2nd night? My kids were bored to tears after 10 minutes of the same stuff. Also, they repeated 3 shows exactly, and last year..they never showed a movie (that should have been for the theater for those who wanted to see it). Also, our server, Jimson was nothing like the gentleman we had last year (whom we told went to the Dream)...he was nice, but always seemed rushed (and no magic tricks this yr) --- he only had 3 tables. Our asst server, Annabel was very sweet. Head waiter did nothing. Our Palo waiter, Sasha was fantastic. I do believe they did pull many of the very experienced and "top" crew over to the Dream. The highlight of the trip was the dolphin encounter in Cozumel...I would highly recommend that to everyone. The other highlight was our family was invited along with only 4 other families on the ship to a special meet and greet with the entire cast from the show and every character, in Studio Sea. One of the character handlers took a liking to my son. It was truly amazing. The kids loved Castaway Cay and the new water slide (but hated the long lines). Yes, I agree the pools (and hottubs) were way too crowded. I'm very sad to be home and back in this cold weather. My kids and I were just saying how the next group that came after us are preparing to go home now. They are begging me to book the Fantasy next year!

 

[Coastingthru]

Hi Missyone,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the cruise. It seems as if most of the repeat cruisers had the same opinion... that it just wasn't as magical as previous cruises but it was still wonderful and they would happily go again. I believe that DCL is just going through a slightly rocky growth period as they adjust to manning and operating the new ship(s) and I don't mind bearing with them if it ultimately helps them get back to where they were.

Regarding the shows, they do keep the main shows in use for a long time anyway. I have been cruising on the Magic for over 7 years and and they have been performing almost all of the same shows for the whole time. We did get one new show this year (Villains Tonight) since they replaced The Golden Mickeys with it last March. I didn't really mind so much this time around as it gave me some free time to hit the spa and take a breather between a day in port and dinnertime.

As far as showing a movie in the Walt Disney Theater, I think that depends on the timing of your cruise. If Disney has very recently released a major feature, they show it in the Walt Disney Theater as a big event. Gnomeo & Juliet came out one week before our cruise, so we knew well in advance that they would be showing it in the big theater during our cruise. On our previous cruises, they showed The Incredibles, Chicken Little, and Wall*E. If it's the actual opening week of the movie, they make a big deal out of it and give away posters and pins and other memorabilia. I was wishing that Pirates of the Caribbean 4 had come out during our cruise! I would *love* going to see that as an event on the ship on Pirate night!

It is really, really cool that your family got to meet the cast and characters in Studio Sea!

We are finally getting used to being back in the cold weather, but as my tan is fading I find myself secretly plotting and planning the next getaway!

 

[remed1978]

OK Bill...no magnetic flatware on our part...care to fill us in? I'll be the first to bite... (sorry for the pun)

As far as our servers go, they were just OK. Our server spoke very quietly and very quickly. He was always in a rush until it came time for him to explain to us the need for an excellent rating, that they would receive perks when comment card was filled out, etc, etc. They mixed up our food EVERY night!! The assistant server was nice, but almost had my daughter in tears one night when she told her that they were no longer friends b/c Katie did not want to share her stuffed animal. I know she was just kidding, but a 5 year old does not always understand things like that. She kept going on about it for about 10 minutes, until Katie was about to cry. I had to tell her that she might be going a bit too far w/ her about it. Silly I know, but not what you expect w/ servers who work w/ kids all of the time. I thought that maybe I had just set my expectations too high, but it seems like others felt service was a bit lacking too.

Met a great CM in Shutters, Jeff, who really made the kids feel special every time he saw them. We met several CMs who really did go out of their way to do something kind.

All in all, we had a fantastic time, and will definitely go again. Kids talk about it every day.

We decided not to go to the first 2 nights shows, and I think it worked out better for us. Had time to explore the ship.

Nemofans...I would have been really upset if we found the door open, and had our privacy invaded the way that yours was. Glad nothing was missing. BTW, Katie was asking about your little guy today, and told me to send a hello your way.

Denisees...we have a few cute pictures of the kids playing in the pool together. I'll send them your way in a few days.

One of my favorite things about this trip was seeing how my son reacted to a lot of the experiences. He is 7 and is still wanting to believe in all of the magic, but will question it. Not on this trip!!! He was not trying to be a "big" kid. His reactions to Mickey were priceless, and the way he danced without caring who was watching was just awesome. I know that this time will probably come to an end soon, so I treasured every minute of it!

Hope you are all staying warm, and just want to say once again how much we enjoyed meeting you all. I may post some pics in a few days...

 

[wcw57]

just posted a SHORT vid on You Tube...search "magic on the disney magic"....it might not be live yet but in a few minutes........................

 

[nemofans]

Oh poor Katie! My DS liked meeting her & I wish they had more opportunity to play.

Our servers were very good, but super busy. The server has been doing this for a long time & our asst server was new. They were nice guys & did try to make our trip special w/making origami, drawing pics on the table cloth. The problem was they had a big table that demanded their attention constantly & then would complain to the head server about them. The whole group at that table would never come in together. So when others would join, they wanted the servers to catch them up to where everyone else was in the meal by rushing thru. Then they kept changing their minds on their drink & food orders after they paced orders. Our servers were running around w/all night. On formal night, that table didn't show up & it was the best night! Our servers gave us so much attention & they kept apologizing for not giving us an exceptional experience. The annoying thing is b/c of the complaining that big table did, other head servers at lunch & breakfast would come & ask us about our servers & if we had issues. We could see them during dinner talking to our asst server each night & after a few days his mood was different. DH thought they might have put him on probation or something. It was sad b/c they both were so great. I was constantly standing up for them saying we really liked them. On the final night, I told our head server that I would ask for this team again. One rude table shouldn't be able to ruin someone's career.